As San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish underwent UCL surgery, knocking him out for the rest of the 2026 season, the star has made a huge decision regarding his career. While there was a question whether the Padres star Darvish would pitch again, it has been answered as he'll retire from the game of baseball, via Bob Nightengale.
“Yu Darvish, 39, considered an icon among Japanese players who have followed him to MLB, has informed the San Padres that he is retiring. He is walking away from the $43 million left in the next 3 years of his contract, as [Kevin Acee] reports,” Nightengale wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
However, Darvish's agent would respond to the report shortly after, saying that a “final decision” has not been made.
“Joel Wolfe, Yu Darvish's agent, responds: ‘Yu has not made a final decision yet. This is a complicated matter we are still working through,'” Nightengale wrote on X 10 minutes later.
Padres' Craig Stammen spoke on Yu Darvish's playing status before
With Darvish last pitching in Game 3 of the Padres' wild-card series against the Chicago Cubs, he would be removed in the second inning of that game, as in 2025, he recorded a 5.38 ERA to go along with 68 strikeouts and a 5-5 record in 15 games. He would undergo surgery to “repair my flexor tendon,” as Darvish said, and when new manager Craig Stammen was asked if he would return in 2026, he had an interesting response.
“Yeah, I think so,” Stammen said during media availability at the Winter Meetings. “I would not put anything past Yu Darvish. That guy has accomplished so many things in our game… The work that he puts in, how articulate he is, and how detailed he is with what he does on a daily basis, he's going to come back from this injury. Whether he and his family decide whether he wants to pitch anymore, that will be up to him, but I know he can do it.”
It remains to be seen if Darvis officially retires or not, but there's no doubt the 39-year-old has left a productive legacy.
